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Resolution of the US-Israel war with Iran now appears further away than at any point in the conflict, with the latest American strikes pushing global markets into a more unsettled phase. The US launch of retaliatory attacks on Iranian defence and radar systems after Washington accused Tehran of responsibility for the downing of an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz has shifted attention from the risk of a contained military exchange to the possibility of a prolonged confrontation in one of the world’s most important energy corridors.

As Narendra Modi overtakes Jawaharlal Nehru as India's longest-serving Prime Minister to this day, the inevitable comparisons have begun. The period of tenure of Nehru is taken from his swearing in as the PM in 1952 after the holding of the first general elections in independent India. This comparison does not take into account the period from August 15, 1947 to the post general election 1952. Yet comparing the two men is akin to comparing a nation's architect with its renovator. One built a state from the ruins of an empire. The other seeks to reshape a mature republic in an era of global competition.

The third term of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India began on June 9, 2024 and hence June 9, 2026 happened to be an occasion for the BJP to showcase him as the longest serving “elected prime minister” of India surpassing the first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. Of course, PM Modi has created a milestone, if we count from the first general election in independent India held in 1951-52, and it is great. Nevertheless, the comparison was erroneous because it intended to undermine the contribution and popularity of Nehru, and to humiliate the Congress.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), once considered the most formidable regional political machine in India, is facing the gravest crisis in its 28-year history. What began as murmurs of dissatisfaction after the party's stunning defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections has rapidly evolved into a full-scale internal rebellion stretching from the West Bengal Assembly to the corridors of Parliament in New Delhi.

KOLKATA: The unprecedented collapse of the Trinamool Congress following the assembly election reverses in 2026 polls has given big opportunities to the Left Front led by the CPI(M) and the Congress to emerge as the opposition to the BJP dominated state government in Bengal. The CPI(M) got only one seat in the new assembly while its ally ISF got another one. As against that, the Congress on its own won in two seats. The erstwhile ruling party Trinamool Congress got 80 seats.

The World Economic Forum on June 10 announced its 2026 Technology Pioneers cohort, recognizing 100 early-stage companies from 23 countries that are developing breakthrough technologies with the potential to transform industries and societies. The cohort reflects the growing geographic diversity of frontier innovation, with nine companies from India and record representation from the Republic of Korea.

The INDIA bloc’s meet on June 8, 2026 in New Delhi has reset a broader consensus on national politics to take on the BJP despite its regional conflicts that surfaced with DMK keeping away from and AAP declaring that it was not part of it. Nevertheless, as many as 25 political parties participated, the Congress President and the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha said, adding that they reached a collective resolve on five key issues.

The most interesting story is not merely that U.S. defense contractors profited from the Iran war, but that financial markets began pricing in those profits even before the first missiles struck. Investors anticipated a long cycle of missile replenishment, drone procurement, air-defense expansion and fighter aircraft sales across the Middle East, Europe and Asia. The war may eventually end, but the contracts generated by it could last for years.

KOLKATA: As tensions persist along the disturbed segments of the Indo-Bangladesh border running through the Northern and central districts of West Bengal, it seems an uneasy bilateral truce will prevail in the medium term. The process of the GOI-declared repatriation of illegal Bangladeshi settlers may run into a stalemate for now, but as things stand, Bangladesh stands poised to lose far more diplomatically, in strategic terms.

Indian democracy is often described as the world's largest political experiment. Increasingly, however, it resembles the world's largest wildlife sanctuary for migratory politicians. Every election season, millions of voters queue up under a scorching sun, clutching voter slips and democratic hopes. They cast their ballots believing they are electing representatives who will uphold a particular ideology, manifesto, or at the very least, the promises shouted from campaign stages.